But I highly doubt most companies were saying that or implying it. There's more to DEI than having minority quotas. Would DEI practices such as campaigns to encourage more men to go into nursing, midwifery or teaching be targeted too?
These aren't illegal and have never been the problem.
Discriminational hiring practices and quotas are, unfortunately DEI activists decided to do these.
This is being contested right now. And so, unless you enjoy getting sued, you won't do it.
Just because you agree with the current administration on certain topics, does not mean that you necessarily agree with them on all topics. This is a case of you projecting your opinion based on what your beliefs without checking whether reality matches.
But plenty of companies very publicly instituted policies to financially penalize their employees if they fail to meet gender quotas. Remember, a policy of giving a bonus when an "inclusion milestone" of X% women in technical roles is reached is fundamentally the same thing as instituting a penalty when that X% quota is missed.